suspension education program

8/6/2019 Suspension Education Program

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Suspension Education Program

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SuspensionIt’s full of loopholes, contradictions and pub experts. There is more misinformation about whatthis bike needs or how that bike should be set-up than any other part of motorcycle riding.Some magazines even go as far as giving you THE settings for your GSXYZRF1400. It’s allbollocks!

There is no ideal setting for any given machine. Every bike to come out of Japan, Italy or anyother country in the world has a setting or set up that is a compromise. When a bike rolls off the production line it has to be able to cope with riders who are tall, riders who are short, thosethat hang off with those that don’t, those who square corners off and those who use a classicline, rider’s who are big boned and those who weigh less than a wet sparrow’s fart. And thebike must handle reasonably well with all these riders and combination of styles and this iseven before we go down the road of poor throttle control and excessive or inappropriate riderinput.

Just for the record, most handling problems come from you, so before you even think aboutgetting the spanners out you should make sure you are relaxed on the bike in the turn, notgiving unwanted handlebar input and you have good throttle control because the throttle cancause all sorts of problems. Roll on and off in a corner and you will know exactly what we meanand we know you’ve done that more than once in your riding carers!

The real key to suspension set up is that you tailor the bike to you and your riding style andabilities. What works for one rider or racer will not work for you.

You need to educate yourself so that you can make an informed and accurate decision onexactly what the bike needs to make it fit your style.

Here is a program designed by coaching guru Keith Code of California Superbike School fame toget you to learn what too much rebound will feel like, what too little sag does for the bike andhow to unlock the key to handling nirvana.

Like all good training programs you do one little thing at a time until you have felt what eachdrill does to your bike. Then, with this information you will be able to adjust your ownsuspension to suit and know when and if you need a re-valve, new shock, springs or just a tadmore front compression damping.

We are assuming here that you have good tyres; suspension that actually has damping, goodheadstock, chain tension and swing arm bearings. In not – then stop wasting ya time and getem fixed.

SagThe most important part of correct suspension set up and it comes in two parts. Most of youwill know that setting the static sag is vital but so few riders realise that this is only half of thedrill. You need to set both the static AND rider sag to see if you have the right strength springsfitted to the front and rear of your bike. The correct spring means that in most cases the middlethird of the travel will be used, this is the most efficient range of the shock as is has enoughtravel left at both the top and bottom of the stroke to deal will all the road or rider can throw atit.

Remember that it’s the spring that does all the work; the shock is just there to control thespring.

Setting static sag.





To make sure that the springs both front and rear are able to work in this middle third we needto see how much the bike settles under it’s own weight. This is the basic static sag.

To get a true reading we first need to put all the damping settings to minimum so the springcan fully extend without the damping holding the it back. With a screw driver or using theknobs on the shock count how many clicks or turns it takes to wind the damping to fully in. Thisgives you your original settings should it all go Pete and you want to go back to how it feltbefore. We wind the damping in because we should always count from fully in to fully out notthe other way round as there is always some slack when the damping is wound all the way outmaking a correct count of turns or clicks near impossible.

Write these settings down and then wind all the damping off, compression and rebound bothfront and rear.

Now, with the aid of a mate pull the bike over on its side stand (Ducati owners would be better

with two mates lifting the front of the bike with the handlebars as the stand is weak as pish)measure the amount they have extended. This is easy on upside downers; ya just measure theexposed chrome or titanium nitrate. On ‘normal’ forks measure from the bottom of the loweryoke to the top of the leg.

Write this measurement down. It will always remain the same and it your base measurement.Now let the bike back down, bounce the front end a couple of times to let it settle and measureagain. The difference between the two figures is your front static sag

For a road bike you should look for: 30 to 40mmFor a race bike you should look for: 15 to 25mm

Now you need to do the rear. Again, lift the rear of the bike off the ground and measure fromthe middle of the rear wheel spindle to a place directly above. You may need to make a markon the under tray to measure from. If you have a hollow wheel spindle then it’s better tmeasure from the top of the hole. Write this figure down, as this will be your rear basemeasurement. Now let the bike back down, bounce the rear a couple of times to let it settle andmeasure again. The difference between the two figures is your rear static sag

For a road bike you should look for: 15 to 25mmFor a race bike you should look for: 5 to 10mm

Before you get your tools out, get ya lid and go and ride a few corners to gauge how the bikefeels with no damping and the springs set as they are now. When you get back write down how

it felt. Words like ‘shit’ and ‘pogo’ are acceptable. This is your own base setting or to be moreaccurate – feeling.

Time for the tape measure again. This time we are going to check the rider sag. You will needsomeone to steady the bike while you get on board and someone to take the measurements.Bounce on the foot pegs few times and allow the bike to settle with you adopting your normalriding position. Don’t hold the front brake on while doing this, as it will stop the bike fromsettling fully.

Now repeat the measuring for the front and rear taking the figure away from the basemeasurement. You will be looking for:

FRONTFor a road bike you should look for: 35 to 50mmFor a race bike you should look for: 25 to 35mm





REARFor a road bike you should look for: 30 to 45mm

For a race bike you should look for: 20 to 25mm

Note: If you can’t get in the RIDER range then the spring needs changing.If you can get in the Static range but outside the RIDER range (over 50mm ROAD, over 20mmRACE) the spring is too SOFT.If you can get in the Static range but inside the RIDER range (under 20mm ROAD, under 10mmRACE) the spring is too HARD.

Once you have got into these ranges or as near as possible it’s time to put your lid on againand go and ride. You will be amazed at the difference just this small part of the programmakes. Come back and write down what you felt.

DAMPINGSTAGE ONENow we need a screwdriver. Adjust your front compression damping to full, all the way in. Thecompression is the bottom screw near the front wheel spindle.Go and ride. When you get back write down how it felt. This will give you a record to refer towhen you want to fine-tune your settings.

STAGE TWOSet the compression back to zero and dial the front rebound to the max. Go and ride and oncemore write down what you felt.

STAGE THREESet the rebound back to zero and dial the rear compression to the max. It’s the knob or screwon the remote reservoir. Go and ride and once more write down what you felt.

STAGE FOURSet the compression back to zero and dial the rear rebound to the max. It’s the knob or screwon the bottom of the shock and can be a wanker to get to on some bikes. Go and ride and oncemore write down what you felt.

These things that you feel are going to tell you what you need to adjust if you feel a problemwith the handling of your bike. You may well be surprised to find that the rear setting creates afeeling at the front of the bike and visa versa.Now it’s time to refine your newfound knowledge and see if you can still pick the feelings out

when there are other damping forces in place.

Put all the damping settings to the halfway mark.

STAGE FIVEAdjust your front compression damping to full, all the way in. Leave the others at halfway.Get out there and ride. Come back and write it down again. The same feeling will be there butmore subtle, a little harder to nail down.

STAGE SIXSet the compression back to half way and dial the front rebound to the max. Go and ride andonce more write down what you felt.

STAGE SEVENSet the rebound back to halfway and dial the rear compression to the max.





Ride. How did it feel?

STAGE EIGHT

Set the compression back to halfway and dial the rear rebound to the max.We are nearly there. How did it feel?

By now you should have a good idea on what too much or too little of any of the settings feelslike. You should know which feeling created at the front actually comes from the rear and soon. There is no right or wrong answer to what you have felt. What is important is you have felta difference in all the settings so now you can make educated adjustments to get the bike tohandle, as you want it to.

FINAL TESTSet all the damping to halfway. Go and ride. Is it what you want or can you now make thesmall and correct adjustments to suit? You should be able to because you have been educated

in the feelings. It’s no longer a mystery or black art, you now can do what the good GP racersdo and come back to the pits and make good adjustments. Just remember that you must havegood throttle control and a loose upper body so the bike can work properly through any givencorner.

A note on ride height

The main reason to change a bike’s ride height is to alter the steering geometry of the bike toeither help it to turn quicker or become more stable. More ride height quickens the steering butmakes the bike less stable and reduces rear grip under power. Less ride height slows thesteering but makes the bike more stable and increases rear grip under power

Here are a few symptoms of changing your ride height:

High Speed instability Too much ride heightPoor rear grip Too much ride heightUnstable under heavy braking Too much ride height

Understeer on corner exit Too little ride heightDifficult to change direction Too little ride heightPoor front end grip on exit Too little ride height

The techniques written and used on the Suspension Education program are for personal andnon-profit making use only.

SUMMARYOriginal Sag Settings

Front Static = Rear Static =

Original damping settings and total number of clicks or turnsAlways count from fully in

Front Rebound Std setting - Total No of clicks/turns -Front Compression Std setting - Total No of clicks/turns -Rear Rebound Std setting - Total No of clicks/turns -

Rear Compression Std setting - Total No of clicks/turns –

Sag





1. Turn off all the damping (wind adjusters out, anti-clockwise)2. Ride

3. Set the Sag

Front measurement unloaded A mmFront measurement STATIC B mm

A – B = STATIC = mmFor a road bike you should look for: 30 to 40mmFor a race bike you should look for: 15 to 25mm

Front measurement unloaded A mmFront measurement RIDER on board C mm

A – C = RIDER = mmFor a road bike you should look for: 35 to 50mm

For a race bike you should look for: 25 to 35mm

Rear measurement unloaded A mmRear measurement STATIC B mm

A – B = STATIC = mmFor a road bike you should look for: 15 to 25mmFor a race bike you should look for: 5 to 10mm

Rear measurement unloaded A mmRear measurement RIDER on board C mm

A – C = RIDER = mmFor a road bike you should look for: 30 to 45mmFor a race bike you should look for: 20 to 25mm

Ride

Damping – Stage OneSet the FRONT COMPRESSION damping to full. All other damping settings to Zero.Note any differences

Damping – Stage TwoSet the FRONT REBOUND damping to full. All other damping settings to Zero.Note any differences:

Damping – Stage ThreeSet the REAR COMPRESSION damping to full. All other damping settings to Zero.Note any differences

Damping – Stage FourSet the REAR REBOUND damping to full. All other damping settings to Zero.Note any differences

Damping – Stage FiveSet the FRONT COMPRESSION damping to full. All other damping setting to HALF WAYNote any differences

Damping – Stage Six

Set the FRONT REBOUND damping to full. All other damping setting to HALF WAY.Note any differences





Damping – Stage SevenSet the REAR COMPRESSION damping to full. All other damping setting to HALF WAY.

Note any differences

Damping – Stage EightSet the REAR REBOUND damping to full. All other damping setting to HALF WAY.Note any differences

DAMPING SETTING FINAL STAGESet ALL damping to the halfway mark.Ride the bikeTweak as needed, using rider input.

FINAL SETTINGS

Front Compression Front reboundRear Compression Rear Rebound

The techniques written and used on the Suspension Education program are for personal andnon-profit making use only. The authors accept no responsibility for mis-adjustment and/orpoor riding that could result in damage or injury.

Copyright Keith Code/Andy Ibbott 2001Verbal permission given for use on T595net

suspension education program

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